In the name of God, The Compassionate, The Ever-Merciful
It has been a few months since I have composed a full article for this blog. This is largely because of a very busy schedule, which includes a publishing project (which is in the final stages now). In any case, I want to share below some thoughts on subjects which are very important, challenges that are facing not only the United States or even the Muslim Ummah, but also mankind, regardless of religious or national affiliation. Keep in mind that below are thoughts expressed rather quickly. Thus, this post is not structured with references, notes and links.
(1) Palestine
The crisis with the victimization of Palestinians by Israel is not a new situation. The current onslaught in Gaza is simply a continuation of policies that have been in place since 1947. It is perhaps "new" in the sense that with mass communications and social media, the horrific images cannot be hidden from the world.
The system of apartheid and colonialism (which also has ideological components ) is unsustainable, and it is my view that we are witnessing desperate attempts to keep it going. That desperation leads to open violence, disdain of international opinion and legal bodies. I think that while the Palestinians continue to suffer, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Indeed, God himself states that He does not allow success to be experienced by those who are oppressive (Innahu Laa Yuflihudh Dhaalimoon) (Qur'an 6:135 etc). This means that oppression is not a permanent condition. It will eventually be lifted. It's just a matter of time.
A few months back. I was invited to teach on Middle East Affairs, and I outlined in an academic environment both the foundations for the conflict as well as for peace. Two of those class presentations are available. See (From the Land of Canaan )
(2) Muslim-Christian relations
I am a strong believer in Islam, it is the summary of Divine guidance as given through all of the messengers of Allah ('alayhim as salaam) ending with the coming of the Final Prophet (Muhammad, Sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam). I believe inviting Christians to accept Islam is an important task, and have been active in that field for many years.
Yet, I believe that the religious environment has been poisoned in recent times, particularly in online content. While it is common for Christian apologists to make outrageous, even stupid claims, against Islam and Muslims, I am also increasingly concerned with Muslim behavior towards Christians. I find that Muslim videos (and keep in mind, typically the creators of these videos are not Imams of any type) are unnecessarily antagonistic, filled not only with superficial arguments, but creating tensions and conflict.
There will always be believers and disbelievers. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and others, will always exist, as long as the world exists. Frankly, I am unbothered by Christians (or Muslims for that matter) who think I am destined for Hell. Da'wah is fine, but we have to do it in the best fashion. We invite using cogent arguments, wisdom and also with our good character. We need maturity, calm discussions, and we also need to accept that others will have religious beliefs that do not align with our own, and that is fine. After all, Allah could make everyone think the same, but He did not do that.
So yes, we should do da'wah, but in a professional fashion, and avoid emotional arguments, gas-lighting and stay away from creating environments of conflict. The actions of many of our active Da'ees (callers to Islam, mostly online) are reactions to the belligerent and often insane moves of Christian missionaries (which includes disrupting prayers at a mosque to even chewing pages of Qur'an online), however, these so called Christians are not our teachers. Our primary, practical teacher is the Prophet Muhammad, the one who is called "a mercy to all nations" (Q 21:107). His ethics were that of engaging in a holistic manner with the followers of other religions. His style was discussion and sharing the content of the Qur'an.
While I can confess to engaging sometimes in religious arguments, in general it is not the best way for long-term goals. On areas of shared interest, especially in a Western environment, Muslims and Christians can work together. Addressing poverty, immorality, political disenfranchisement, etc.. we should be able to do that. But that requires maturity on both sides of the aisle. Moreover, there are elements out here, both within religious discourse -and their financiers behind the scenes- who desire to poison any attempts to do good things. It suits their political interests to keep us divided. This is something our leaders have to be cognizant of.
(3) American society (Homelessness, immigration, family, economy, racism, xenophobia)
In the second term of President Donald Trump's reign, I am increasingly alarmed at not only his foreign policy actions of late, but also the exercise of authoritarianism on domestic levels. I cannot help but sound an alarm at his announced plans to employ the National guard to have a Federal takeover of Washington, D.C. claiming it is a move to fight crime and homelessness. He has expressed a desire to do something similar to Chicago, Illinois.
Regarding homelessness, in the West coast of the United States we see it on the rise. However, using police tactics-simply to move them from one place to another- is a temporary fix at best. The solution-I think- is a reform of the culture, as well as shifting of spending priorities on the county, state and national levels. After all, how much money is spent on our military budget? How much is spent to support Israel? Or to Ukraine, which only provokes Russia? Those funds are better spent dealing with the social issues of this country.
Immigration has been another hot topic, in which even some Non-White immigrants express support for the Trump administration crackdown on illegal immigrant. I think the support of some voices from immigrants is a desire for proximity to power, but also stems from class differences. The Trump supporters (of all stripes) view themselves as elites, and cannot see the other side.
Racism and Xenophobia have also been on the rise, with both official and unofficial expression. It is difficult and seemingly almost impossible to change the mindset of those who have embraced these views. As such, those with a more sane vision of existence need to hope for the best and also become prepared. Everyone should have items such as a passport, second streams of income, practice careful spending/investing, and become better educated (both formally and informally). Those with the ability to enter into politics, media and the like should do so, and at the least, try to slow down the rise of dangerous ideas.
The Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, has remarked that end times are indicated by "the diminishing of knowledge and the popularization of ignorance" (Yaqillul 'ilmu wa yakthurul jahl). I firmly believe that this can equally be applied to the era of the fall of a society. It is up to people of 'Ilm (knowledge) and Hilm ( mental controls) to put something out there that has a positive impact on these situations. They cannot stay silent.
The preservation of the family (and even redefining it in order to create stronger networks of support) is very important. The concepts of excessive individualism and materialism are not only destructive, they are contrary to Divine guidelines. Thus, the social trends of encouraging conflict between the sexes and the like should be thrown into the trash.
I have no doubt that this post is short on details. It can be made better. These are simply some thoughts on just a sample of the most important issues we face today. As always, I welcome reactions, reflections, be it in agreement or disagreement. Thank you.
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